240,033 Shares in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Purchased by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 240,033 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,062,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CNP. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 51.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,106 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $43,000. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:CNP opened at $32.65 on Friday. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.41 and a 1 year high of $32.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The business’s 50-day moving average is $30.05 and its 200-day moving average is $29.25. The company has a market capitalization of $21.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.92.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.31. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 11.25%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This is an increase from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. CenterPoint Energy’s payout ratio is 55.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Scotiabank lifted their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Bank of America initiated coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $29.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of CenterPoint Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $29.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CenterPoint Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.00.

About CenterPoint Energy

CenterPoint Energy, Inc operates as a public utility holding company in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Electric and Natural Gas. The Electric segment includes electric transmission and distribution services to electric customers and electric generation assets, as well as optimizes assets in the wholesale power market.